An Instant Before
by JDark
Summary: One-shot about the events that could have happened (or more like Naruto's thoughts) right after chapter 660. Spoilers alert!


Title: An instant before

Summary: One-shot about the events that could have happened (or more like Naruto's thoughts) right after chapter 660.

Disclaimer: All rights belong to Kishimoto-sensei

**A/N:** Hello, everyone~!

Well, this short piece is just my musings on the events in chapter 660. So, I guess, I have to say: "SPOILERS ALERT". But mostly it's just about the thoughts and the course of events I would like to see in the manga. It probably won't be happening, though))) And I was really moved by the scene with the old priest, so I wonder if I succeeded in using some of this 'true feelings' motif.

If some of you guys find it nice, I would be more than happy~

Please, enjoy!

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In an instant the World slowed down. One moment was dragging on forever. He could not feel a thing. Like a spectator he was watching this horrid movie in slow motion. This made him painfully aware of every movement around him. A strong flow of chakra brushed past him as it was being pulled away. So warm and bright. This flame-like chakra has never burned him, not since he started willingly using this mode. Instead it has always been so warm, like he was bathing in the sunlight. Right now, however, this warmth was fading away, leaving his body. '_No! Please, stop!'_ The flow of chakra was thinning down mercilessly, becoming more transparent with each second. He tried hard to concentrate on stopping the flow, or at least to slow it down so he can buy himself some time to figure out his next move.

For a moment the flow stilled and finally everything ceased to move. _'Did I make it?_ _No, it's …'_ He realized that he was now floating at the tip of one of the tails. Somehow he knew what was to follow. '_This can't be happening._ _Kurama…' _He wanted to call out to his friend, but the sudden wave of pain surged through him. The demon's chakra was being pulled right out of his body. Ripping through it. Bit by bit the Nine Tales' chakra slowly detached from his body. Each sensation registered within him. The pain was agonizing, blinding. Did he scream? He could not tell. It took all his strength just to stay conscious. He could not let go not now. '_Not when I've finally became friends with Kurama. I can't let him have Kurama! There must be a way! Concentrate!'_

'_Kurama!' _he shouted in his mind._ 'We can't let him win! Struggle! Don't let him take you away!'_

The only answer he received was a pained growl. He could not even see where it was coming from. He could not see Kurama. The very dimension he used to share with his tailed beast crumbled down, ceasing to exist. And he was pulled back into the real world, back to being crushed by pain.

'_No, please!'_ he begged. He did not want to be alone again. He simply could not bear to.

With horror-filled eyes he looked before him. The pain was slowly receding, and he saw everything so clearly. The petal-like flames dancing in the wind, getting father and father away from him. The last shreds of flame leaving his body along with the remaining warmth. His bright yellow cloak dissipated, revealing his tattered jacket. He outstretched his hand, in a failing attempt to grab at the fathering remnants of his Jinchuuriki shroud. His fingers brushed right through it. The warm flames, the light, they were completely pulled out of his body. He felt so empty. Void of some crucially important part of him. It was not supposed to be this way. He felt so bitter.

The cold was spreading inside him, constricting his movements and numbing his senses. Was he falling down? It did not really matter. Nothing mattered. He would not even feel an impact as he reached the ground, would he? _'Kurama, I'm so sorry.'_

He heard someone calling out his name. This voice sounded so desperate. Was it Gaara? The sounds around him became distant, muffled. His body felt heavy. He terribly needed some rest. Why again he could not have a nap right now? A short nap sounded great. He would climb under the covers and finally get warm. He wondered why his land-lady still has not turned on the central heating, it was freezing. _'I'll just close my eyes for a moment, but tomorrow I'll definitely...' Wrong! _Something with this picture felt terribly off. _'Right, the war...'_ He was not at home, was he? He could not even make any promises about tomorrow. He was falling. And the war would go one without him to an uncertain end.

'_Can we still win this war?' _It was so unfair. After everything they have gone through. After all the sacrifices that have been made. After all the comrades they have lost, fighting against Obito. All their struggles just played into Uchiha Madara's hands, piece by piece falling into the plan he designed.

He cannot die now. He cannot leave everyone, not knowing what would become of them. Will Gaara and the other Kages be able to stop Madara? Will Sasuke help? Even so, he cannot let them do it all alone. _'What kind of Hokage leaves his family vulnerable?! I can't die… Not yet! I have to protect them. I want to li-'_

And yet his body was so heavy, he could not feel his limbs. He could not do anything to prevent his fall. He braced himself for the impact, but it never came.

He landed and yet he did not crush into the ground. Someone catched him in his arms. So warm.

"Are you still alive?" that someone asked him, but he did not have the strength to reply. _'I … '_

"Dobe, answer me!" the voice sounded demanding, as if this person really cared, really needed to know the answer. _'Who?'_

The arms, holding him gently, felt so warm. He did not want this sensation to leave him. He did not want to fade away. Who was this person? This one question suddenly became so important.

He mustered all his remaining strength to get a look at this person. His eyes fluttered open and for a moment he struggled to regain his vision as it was too bright for him to see.

Azure eyes met black, and for the second time the World around him stopped moving. _'Sasuke…'_

The Uchiha's gaze was fixed on the blond in his arms. "Good", his gaze softened a bit.

"Now I want you to stay awake," Sasuke ordered not unkindly. "Got it, Naruto?"

He used his proper name. Under some different circumstances this would have made him smile or maybe even crack a joke. But now there were too many other questions. Why? Do you… Do you really still care, Sasuke? He could utter none of them. His eyes slowly drifted closed again. But the image of Sasuke hovering over him, almost wearing a worried expression, remained vivid in his mind.

'_If you care, will you help everyone in my place?'_ He could imagine how the Uchiha would smirk at him the way he did when they were younger. 'Do I always have to work for the both of us, usuratonkachi?' – would not it be the kind of complaint he would make in this situation. _'I wonder…'_

Anyway, this would be reassuring. Because no matter what Sasuke told him he could always feel, always understand his real intentions. So, he knew that he could count on him. Especially now. But... What he really, sincirely wanted was...

_'I want to help too. Like any other mission, if we're together we can save the day, right? And then we'll come back home.'_

_'You'll come along this time, won't you? I mean, you even spouted some nonsense about becoming a Hokage before me!'_

_'You know what! I want to live, Sasuke. Because, I can't let you become a Hokage without some competition, can I? No, actually I'll make it one Hell of a competition! You're my precious rival after all. A friend. Yes, a friend. I wonder, would you let me call you that again?'_

"Teme, I-" he mutter, an instant before he was swallowed by the darkness, and the World ceased to exist.

"Uchiha!" Gaara appeared next to the two, panting. "We have to get him to the Forth Hokage, the Fox told me."

"Hn" Sasuke gave him a curt nod, his gaze still fixed on the boy in his arm.

An instant later the three figures obscured by the clouds of stirred dust could be vaguely seen moving away from the battlefield.

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Thanks for reading!

Please, review~!


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